A 40-year-old mother of three was told she had incurable cancer after a major symptom was caught when she had gone for a blood donation drive. For Jenny Garner, dangerously low levels of iron were not just a normal deficiency but a diagnosis of bowel cancer.

After the reveal, the doctor conducted surgery to remove the tumour, part of her bowel, and the surrounding lymph nodes, but months later her cancer spread to the lymph nodes behind the stomach and is now beyond treatment.

"When I went to donate, the blood droplet didn't sink fully, which was an indicator of low iron, but I had just enough to donate. I just assumed it's because I'm a vegetarian, and that's what the doctors seemed to think too - I was told not to worry,” said Jenny, a community carer for the elderly from Greater Manchester. "That evening, I felt really ill, tired, struggling to breathe, and sluggish, but I put it down to having just given blood,” she added. "So, when I was diagnosed, it came as a complete shock. It was totally surreal, and it was all a bit of a blur.”

At present, Jenny is undergoing fortnightly chemotherapy sessions and will have another scan in eight to 12 weeks to assess progress. She has also looked into alternative treatments, hoping they may help her—including taking melatonin, which is currently used to tackle sleep issues, and ivermectin, which is used to treat parasitic diseases.

Bowel, or colon, cancer starts in your large intestine - the long tube that helps carry digested food to your rectum and out of your body. It develops from certain growths in the inner lining of your colon. According to doctors, early screening tests can detect precancerous polyps before they can become cancerous tumours.

Experts say since your colon wall is made of layers of mucous membrane, tissue, and muscle—this cancer, which starts in your mucosa - the innermost lining of your colon mutates the cells, creating a colon polyp.

Over time, colon polyps may become cancerous, as if left undetected or untreated, the cancer works its way through a layer of tissue, muscle, and the outer layer of your colon. Colon cancer may also spread to other parts of your body via your lymph nodes.

Doctors say you can have colon cancer without having symptoms. If you do have symptoms, you may not be sure if changes in your body are signs of colon cancer. It happens because some of these symptoms are similar to those of less serious conditions.

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